Christmas tree alternatives

Christmas tree alternatives

Every year, December 6th, after ‘Sinterklaas’ (Saint Nicholas) I start decorating the home for Christmas.
We usually pick out a real Christmas tree and throw it out when the needles turn brown and fall off in January.
Most trees will be collected and composted or recycled otherwise (some regions burn Christmas trees, which is not as usefull).

You can buy a tree with roots to allow them to be replanted, maybe even keep it in your garden to reuse every year.
There are even companies offering living Christmas trees ‘for rent’, if you don’t want the hassle of planting it in your garden (or don’t have a garden), but still want to have a living tree.
But this blog is not about real Christmas trees, as I decided against a real one this year….
Time to branch out and look at the alternatives! 😉

Bamboom

At the natural parenting fair in Holland I spotted the ‘bamboom‘ (= translation would be ‘bamtree’), a Christmas tree alternative made out of bamboo.
It’s locally made and I found out they also offer custom sizes if you want a bigger (or smaller) tree. At the fair they presented their outside weather-proof version, which is a bit more expensive. ( the current 1.50m ‘inside’ model costs 237,50 Euro )
The idea is pretty simple: a steel core and a bunch of slats made out of pressed bamboo sorted by size to create a Christmas tree shape.
Once assembled you can turn every slat individually to create a more random look or position them to make the tree look like winding stairs.
It doesn’t take a lot of room when it needs to be stored, but I might even consider keeping it longer in my living room as a decoration… not only for Christmas time.

I have the Fat XL model, which has wide slats so you can put decorations on them as well, instead of only hanging decorations.
I went with led christmas light candles and handmade fairtrade felted decorations. The handmade decorations are made in Nepal and they go really well with the tree.
Celine and Alice decorated the tree and sometimes I will find Celine repositioning the decorations, she loves to change the tree around. 🙂

They tried to keep the shipping costs low by creating a product which is right withing the limit of normal shipping (30kg), bigger trees will have a higher shipping cost or need to be shipped in two parts.
I love the fact that this tree is made to last a lifetime and I hope it will bring us joy for many years to come!

Infinite Tree

I spend a few (okay, many) hours on Pinterest looking at Christmas tree alternatives when one evening I spotted a rainbow version.
This tree is made with basswood and designed by Johannes Molin. It’s designed by using the measurements from the Golden Ratio, which should mean it resembles the beauty found in nature.
I ordered the green version for my hallway, but am still considering to buy the rainbow version when they go on sale.

With a height of 17 inches (= approx. 43 cm) it’s very small but it makes a cute tabletop Christmas decoration.
You can’t decorate this tree but it’s fun to turn the slats around and change the way it looks.
This one will fit even the smallest appartment.

Possibilitree

Possibilitree comes in four different models. I love the 6ft suspended model, which hangs from the ceiling (and floats over your presents!) but the Wabi Sabi stole my heart.
Wabi Sabi is about finding the beauty within imperfection. The Wabi Sabi tree is made with a unique combination of woods with imperfections.
These imperfections are created by human error which means that the holes might be a little off center, a center rod might not be completely straight or a branch may be bowed.

The different kinds of wood give the tree a warm appearance and fit our play/bedroom perfectly.
This model isn’t the best choice if you want to decorate it, because the space in between the branches is very limited, but my girls created some ornaments so they had to be hung.
It’s a tabletop tree size ( 24″ / 61cm ) and comes with a storage tube which takes almost no space.